Operation Chameleon
by Pain e Panic
Summary: "Mikaela, you are telling me he will have a human body, right?" "Yes, if the procedure succeeds, Bee will have a human body... He will needs a lot of help to deals with that, especially since he will end up in a teenager body..."
1. Chapter 1

Transformers aren't mine, are hasbro

* * *

.

* * *

Ms Witwicki isn't amused, not at all. Her son was released from the hospital ten minutes ago, a cervical collar at his neck and a cast around is left wrist, and the last person-or robot, or whatever- she wanna see is that giant semi-trailer truck, that Optimus Prime, in the hospital park.

Before Optimus can says anything, she start: "What you want from my son? Wasn't enough what you did to him? It's all your fault if he was in this hospital!"

She can feels Ron's hand around her arm, trying to keep her calm, and Sam was trying to justify the Bot, but she doesn't care, she have to speak her mind.

"You promised he will be safe, that Bumblebee will keeps him safe, and now he have a wrist broke and a whiplash and where is Bumblebee now?"

"Ms Witwicki... I'm sorry, Bumblebee did his best to keep Samuel safe, and I'm here to ask Sam if he want to... came... and s-s-say g-goodbye to his guardian..." Sam'd never ears Prime so distraught, and for a moment he doesn't understand what he means... But after... " what do you mean with 'say goodbye'? He's ok, right? He was dents but he spoke with me, he was fine when I left, he told me he was fine, tell me he's fine!" He's hysteric by the end...

"Sam, I'm sorry, he's spark chamber was c-cracked in the incident... Ratchet is doing his best, but he said Bee is not going to s-s-survive to this night... He's going to perform a experimental procedure, but there are no guaranties, so probably you should says ... goodbye... ... "

Sam eyes are fiiled of tears now, and Judy's protectives instinct kicks in, and she is ready to chew the Big Bot, but one military, that she didn't notice before (she believe he's called Lennox, but she wasn't sure), stop her saying: "Ma'am, please, your son is bruised but fine, his... son... He is dying, Bumblebee is dying, and his father is here to ask to your son to come and see him before is too late, because he knows it's important for both Sam and Bee, can you understand?"

She sigh, as a mother she could emphatize with the other father, and from the looks on the military face, she suppose he have a son or a daughter himself.

She help his son to the truck, following him inside and fasten her and her' son seatbelts, before she hug him and try to comfort the teenager.

* * *

When they arrive, Sam is shocked: when he left Bee to go to the hospital, the Camaro looked dented, but fine... now, in his bipedal form, on that berth with all that wires and machines around, with the pale paint and the fading optics, he looks terrible.

Ratchet and Mikaela look drained as they keep working around Bee and a littler berth on a side.

Ratchet says something to Mikaela, and the girl stops what she is doing and came to Sam.

"Sam, I'm sorry I didn't came to see you at the hospital, I just felt like I can be more useful here, you know?"

"I know, are you ok? How is Bee doing?"

She sigh "let's talk in front of a caffe." She lead him and his family in the cafeteria of the NEST basis, and when everyone was settled, she start:" He is in stasis, that means he cannot feels the pain, is like a coma... But his spark is fading, he has too many leaks of energon, and we cannot fix him before his spark give up... "

" Optimus said something about a experimental procedure?"

" There was a experimental project, called 'operation chameleon', they were preparing human bodies to host temporarily Autobot sparks, to allow them to walk between humans like humans... As I said, it should be temporarily, and they should go back in they real body when they need it. Fortunately, Bee's body was almost ready, it's a little younger than what it should be, but it can works. Now our hope is that his spark his strong enough for the transfers... He will not be able to go back in his real body, and we need to p find a more permanent solution, but by now is our only hope to save him..."

"Mikaela, you are telling me he will have a human body, right?"

"Yes, if the procedure succeeds, Bee will have a human body... He will needs a lot of help to deals with that, especially since he will end up in a teenager body..."

"Talking of that" Ron intervenes, "Do you said that it will be 'younger'? What do you mean with ' younger'?"

"Well, if he was human, he should be 17 years old, but his body grown only till his 13"

A beep interrupt Mikaela, she checks her cell phone and after she just gives them an apologetic look:" I should go, I'm sorry...we are starting the procedure now... Please wait there, I will let you know something as soon as possible..."


	2. Chapter 2

"Please wait there, I will let you know something as soon as possible..."

Wait is never easy, especially if you are waiting news from a emergency room or a medbay...

Wait gives you time to imagine the worst scenarios, or to remember...

Wait gives birth to strange thoughts, or brain's farts. For example, Sam is ready to write a essay on the relativity of time in the waiting room...

Ok, so probably Sam is trying to avoid to remember, because nothing hurts more that the hindsight...

Yesterday, or maybe two days ago, he is not sure what time is it but seems late enough to be past midnight, he was riding his Camaro, or he was spending quality time with his best friend, if you prefer, enjoying the music from the radio and the rhythmic sound of the rain on said best friend' s hood. In hindsight, running under the rain is not poetic but stupid, but they was enjoying it. Yes, they was enjoying the velocity and the company, since a semi-trailer truck, different from Optimus only for the green paint, didn't stop with the red light.

Sam can remember Bee manoeuvre when he attempted to avoid the collision. He's sure that with that Bee saved his life. But seems his guardian sacrificed himself to do so.

Sam is not sure he can survive with this knowledge... His guardian, his best friend, he turns himself to avoid that that trunk hits Sam side, and takes the hit on his back side... Was that to crack open his spark chamber? Or was the pole of the traffic light they hit after that? Sam was very glad they had already left Mikaela, since the passenger side was pretty destroyed...

Thinking back to that, in hindsight, how he'd believed to Bee when the yellow mech told him that everything was fine? Bee sounded more concerned about Sam status than about his own situation, and begged Sam to go with the paramedics, "don't worry, Ratchet is on his way, just go..." But the damage was extended...

Did his friend still conscious till Ratchet arrived, or did he fall in stasis alone, in the dark, under the rain?

Sam called his mum as soon as he arrived in the hospital, to scared to be alone with all that sickness and death around him, how doctor can stand in the hospital all the day? Did they like there or they are afraid of hospitals like everyone else?

He left his best friend behind, alone, and probably he will never have the possibility to apologise... He didn't say goodbye! He came here to say goodbye but he haven't the possibility!

Tears fulfil his eyes and, when his mum hugs him again, he reacts like a child, crying on her shoulder.

* * *

Optimus is waiting, for a millenarian creature few hours are nothing, or at least they should be nothing...

But wait for news about a loved one stretched the time, and make seconds become years and minutes centuries.

He was the first one with Ratchet to arrive one the crash site, and his spark almost stopped when he saw his youngling on the street sideline, surrounded by police cars. He looked barely conscious and completely alone and for a moment Optimus hated Sam for leaving him behind. With the arrival of Ironhide and major Lennox, they managed to get some space and they finally burdened Optimus' trailer with the semi-conscious Camaro. Ratchet rode with them and helped the young Camaro to transform in his bipedal form and meanwhile the scout managed to send them a report about the incident.

His scout is so brave and dutiful, and Optimus is so proud of him, but also he knows that characteristics bring a lot of pain on the youngling, and his spark cringe for that.

This is not the first time the yellow scout sacrifice his wellbeing for their causes, and Optimus cannot avoid to remember Tyger Pax, where his scout sacrificed his own voice to keep Megatron busy. Bee resisted to the tyrant's tortures, and allowed Optimus to save the Allspark.

And he was so young. He STILL too young. In the old times he wouldn't be allowed to join the army for another couple of centuries, but in this times, with the war, every single mech can make the difference. And Bee grew up in the army, with Optimus as his main keeper, even if all the mech contributed to raise him. And when Bee, huge determined optics and rigid vibrant doorwings, came in his office and said "I wanna join you in the combat, I'm sick to stay here and wait for you all to come back, and just count how many of you didn't, I wanna help!" He couldn't say no to him. Jazz and Ironhide trained him, and all together they pray Primus that their youngling would survive to that war.

Seems Primus satisfied their prays, just to let him die by a stupid accident. No Decepticons, no big battles, just a single human and a broken brake, and now their youngling, HIS youngling, his son, is dying...

" Primus, please, no, not that way..."


	3. Chapter 3

When Mikaela asked Ratchet to train her as Autobot medic, Ratchet knew that that was a bad idea, even if the young lady believed she was ready to deal with the injuries of her friends.

Looking at the body of the young, yellow mech in the berth on her left side, she understands her lacks of judgement. Ratchet can bet that the Bee's Optics, dark and lifeless, will follow her forever, he experienced it at first hand. And even if the old docbot faced more death than everyone can understand, he feel guilty for not be able to save their little youngling.

Sure, they manage to transfer Bee's spark in the new host body, but comparing to the Cybertonian's life expectation, the 80 years they give to the youngling seems nothing. But that gives them more time to try to find a more permanent solution.

(I'm sorry Bee, I failed you with your voice box after Tyger Pax, and I swore I will never let you down again, and now I just fail you again)

Ratchet looks at the teenager body on the other, littler, berth. The docbot followed the Chameleon Project from the start. Technically speaking, this project was really advantage and state of arts even for Cybertonian's standards: Every body was developed mixing human DNA and cybertronian CNA, to allow the compatibility between body and spark. The first prototype was the one for Bee, and the young scout was so excited for the idea of test it in a couple of weeks. He told Ratchet he wanna surprise Sam and Mikaela with his human body, and he wanna go with them in the shopping center and to the cinema.

Ratchet knows that all this fascination of Bee with humans is also due to the fact he never had experienced a childhood, and he never had been with friends equal in age, and the idea of interact with them peer to peer was the reason he volunteer himself for this experimentation.

(Thanks to Primus for this little miracle, if this accident had happened a month earlier, we would have lost our youngling forever.)

The young, human, boy in the berth start to trembles and shakes and, suddenly, he sit with a scream.

Mikaela was on him in no time, trying to comfort him.

Bumblebee's last memory was of a huge, green Peterbilt truck running on a red traffic light.

He remembers of turning himself to protect Sam, and he remembers hitting the pole of the traffic light, but after that everything is hazy, and for sure he cannot figure out why he is on a berth with a Mikaela taller than him and with a huge Ratchet tower over them both.

But he is an Autobot scout, so his first priority is for his duties:

"Where is Sam? Is he ok? Does he get injured in the accident? And why you both looks so gigantic?"

Mikaela's hand is on Bee shoulder, leading him to lie down.

"Hush Bee, Sam is ok, is ok…"

"Yes youngling, your charge is safe, and you just became the first autobot in a human body"

"oh" not the Bee's most eloquent answer ever… he turns to Mikaela "surprise?" he looks apologetic at least and Mikaela cannot resist anymore and hugs him as tied as she believes he can survive without break. Well, to be fair, it's not so tied since the hasten grown makes Bee's new body looks skinny and pale and fragile.

Ratchet looks at the two teenagers and goes out to report to everyone about their scout situation.


	4. Chapter 4

Sam doesn't wait, Ratchet just finish to said "Bee is going to be ok" and Sam is already running inside the medbay.

The bigger berth still hosting the offline body of his guardian, but on the other berth are sitting Mikaela and a blonde child with huge blu eyes. Mikaela is speaking with the boy, and Sam can see the boy's expression, smart and playful, and his retort makes Mikaela laugh hard.

Sam came closer, until the boy notices him and freeze. He stand up slowly and come closer to Sam who stays still, and rise an hand to touch lightly his cervical collar. "I'm sorry Sam, what a poor guardian i was to get you so injured from a simple, inanimate truck…"

Sam cannot wrap his mind around the fact that this skinny boy, shorter than him by the whole head, was his guardian. He looks so fragile, for God sakes!

"Bee, you are not supposed to leave the bed for the next few days, you know?" Mikaela says while she start to drag him to the berth.

That is enough to rouse Sam, and makes him move to help. "Bee, I'm sorry you got so badly hurt that night! It's was my fault, if I hadn't ask you to drive as to the cinema…"

"Hey, that's my role, and I'm sorry, but seems to me we both needs a new car, by now" Bee answer with a smirk "or we will get sticked with your mum's bike, pink paint, white basket and all the gig"

Oh, yeah, that's Bee for sure, he never let Sam go with that debacle on his first meeting with Barricade…

* * *

"Ratchet, what about now?"

"Now, Optimus, I have to study his new body, to be sure that everything is working properly and to avoid the spark's rejection. We will give him the best adolescence, the best life, and we will enjoy every minutes of the years he gets to live."

"But you cannot revive his old body.."

"No, I can't"

"80 years, you said?"

"Yeah, or maybe longer, or shorter, is difficult to predict… and he will be an adult in this body, in less than a decade…"

"But for his coming of age, the real one, he will not survive so long to celebrate it"

"I'm sorry, Optimus, I hope I can do something more to help him"

"Is not your fault, old friend"

"Neither is yours"

Those last three phrases are the same they told each other after Tyger Pax, and Optimus cringes, but also that give him some hope: after Tyger Pax he believed his little scout wouldn't be the same anymore, but the youngling proved him wrong caming on Earth to find the AllSparks and finding also new friends and ally. His brave, sunny Bumblebee, how Optimus is supposed to survive without him?


	5. Chapter 5

Bee isn't snooping around, thank you very much, he is testing his scouting abilities in this new form. And ok, maybe he was bored to tears, and the NEST gossip help him to avoid to go crazy for the inactivity, but he isn't snooping around.

It's be a whole month since he woke up in this body, and they still treat him like he in going to break up any second. And Sam wasn't been here except for a weekend, two weeks ago… apparently his parents wouldn't buy him a new car any soon, so they are subjected to said parents willingness of take the boy at the base.

Everyone here is boring and old. That shouldn't be a big deal, since he is the last youngling he always played and sparred with older mech, but here everyone seems prefer to avoid him, the little weird robo-boy.

So gossip…

If someone minds to ask, he knows all about the secret love affair between the Sergeant Epps and the nice cook girl of the NEST canteen. Usually, after she finish her shift, they go on the top of the NEST roof to kiss and to hold each other hands, and if she got the dinner shift, they take advantage of the darkness to go further. Bee enjoy the roof, but they looks so happy so he doesn't mind to leave them the place…

Another good story, if he manages to confirm it, can be the one about Fig, who have a huge crush for the pizza delivery boy. Bee he's not completely sure of it because, geez, Fig cannot keep to speak English to save his own life, or maybe just loves sending people crazy with Spanish language, and Bee misses his wifi internal connection that used to allow him to download and learn all the languages he wanna know, but anyway, gossip…

(Bee cannot let himself thinks about what he lost: he is alive, Sam is Alive and recovering from his injury, and that's all, he doesn't miss his body, his internet connection, his with his family members, his strength, his ability to protect said family, and Sam and Mikaela, that are part of the family by now and he …)

GOSSIP

So, now he's lying on his stomach on one of the beam of the roof, and is going to figure out if Major Lennox (who asks him to simply call him Will, and was nice and spoke with him for a whole afternoon, and that shouldn't be a big deal but, man, he feels so lonely these days… so, if Will) are actually flirting with Ironhide or if that Bee saw before was just a made up by his bored mind.

If he has his own old body, he would had ask directly to Hide, or Ratchet, but he feels like is family his keeping the distance from him… he is an human now, maybe they didn't consider him part of the family anymore? He is too weak and squishy and he is going to die way before them, so maybe they would pretend he wasn't a part of the family at all and… )

GOSSIP!

Right, Hide is sitting on a Autobot-size chair, and Will is, instead of on the perch in front of the weapon specialist, on his shoulder. They've been silent since Bee reaches his strategical position, but now Will seems ready to start. "Come on big fella, tell me what is bothering you… maybe I can help, maybe not, but talk usually help to deal with stuffs…" In Bee opinion this is not the most flirty approach, but again, Sam start with a similar method, and its works for them, maybe the whole we-are-gonna-die-in-an-intergalactic-war thing helps to move the situation, but who cares?

Hide sighs, and Bee is pretty sure he'd never heard his teacher do that sound before.

"I… I can't…. Will, he still alive, and i just wanna hug him and have a cube of energon with him and maybe a sparring session, but I can't… he is so fragile and Ratchet said that he will have trouble to regulate to his new body and his processor, his mind, is not the same as before, it cannot be…."

The weapon specialist hide his faceplate in his servos, and when he speak again is voice sounds so lost that Bee needs some time before the words can be elaborate from his brain (his weak-y, little, squishy brain). But when they do so, his word start to crumbling all around him

"Optimus's thinking about sending Bee away, to give him the possibility of live a normal life as human boy…"

(sending Bee away….sending Bee away….sending Bee away….sendingBeeawaysendingBeeawaysendingBeeawaysendingBeeaway if you repeat something enough time the words will lost their meaning…. they still hurt anyway…)

Hide is still talking ("we wasn't able to give him a proper childwood, with the war and all our world going to the pit…so maybe now he can have it….") but Bee isn't listening at him anymore. No, Bee is lying on this back now, and tears are streaming on his face down in his ears, and it feels strange but he is too concentrate in avoid to sigh loudly to care… he is (or was) a scout, and he used to be good to be perfectly silent, but at that time he used to switch off his vocalizer… he cannot switch off anything anymore, and this is the thought that makes him lost it.

Hide is suddenly aware of the sobbing noises from the celling and, climbing on the chair to better see on the beams (that damned thing are so high, how can anyone get on top of them?), he finds the little boy that used to be his pupil and his pain in the ass for millennia on the Ark.

He's not sure if he can grab the boy without damage him, but he neither can leave him there…

He manages to put him down on the floor without give him any bruise, but he know he cannot comforts Bee, not without squeeze him anyway. Doesn't matter, since Will is already hugging the blond boy, and Hide, even if he like Will very much, cannot avoid that sense of envy and jealousy and of big loss for the scene in from of him…

By the time he com. Optimus and Ratchet to came here and try to fix the situation, Bee had cried himself to sleep in Will arms. He still looks scared and upset even so, and the three Autobot sparks cringe for him.

* * *

Morning after goes even worst. Apparently Bee didn't sleep so well that night. Optimus held him on his spark chamber all the night, shushing him to go back to sleep even now and than. So when the boy wakes up in Optimus arms, his first words are "please don't send me away". If this doesn't break Prime's spark, the weak "I promise to be good, I will carry my weight, please…" does so, and leave the brave bot with no words.

And the shit hits the proverbial fan.

Bee misinterprets this silence, and looking around no bot is making eye-contact with him (they are to ashamed that they provoke such a big distress for the recovering boy, but for Bee's tired mind they are just confirming their decision of trow I'm away, like the useless tool he became)

Bee run away, trough a human size door. And after that is like if he disappear in the thin air. They would like to be proud and impressed that he maintain his abilities in this body as well, but they are to concentrate to find him. They ask for the whole military squad designate for the NEST bases to help.

They looks everywhere, but the one expert to follow the tracks is the one they are trying to tracking down, and they know they will not find him unless he decides so.

At the start they are pretty sure he is in the basis, but after three days of searching they had to try every option.

* * *

"Hi Sam, this is Optimus Prime speaking.."

"Hi Optimus, how are you?"

"fine… looks, I need to know if you see Bee or get contact by him in the last three days.."

"What's happen?"

"He is there?"

"…No… Optimus, what happened?"

"Please, let me know if you see or hear something from him"

"Wait…"

"And tell him we love him, ok?"

"Wait…" too late…

* * *

Sam turns to Bee, sitting on his bed with this lost face as a puppy dog or something…"So, I just lied to Optimus for you, do you mind to explain me why?"

"Can I sleep in your garage this night?" geez, puppy eyes fulfill of tears…

"we will share my bed with you Bee… you know, you are not a car anymore, you cannot sleep in a garage eheh" it was suppose to be a lame joke just to make Bee smile, but the effect was way far from it, as tears start to roll on the little boy's cheeks "Bee! I'm sorry, everything will be fine, it's ok, I got you, you are going to be ok…"

* * *

"He is with Sam…"

"Perfect, let's go there and bring him back…"

"No, Ironhide, maybe we should give him some time… Maybe Sam can help him where we failed…"

"Yeah, Optimus is right, but, Prime, you should tell Sam what's happening"

"ok Ratchet, I will talk with him soon"


	6. Chapter 6

Sam knows that he should have call Bee when he first saw Optimus on his driveway, but the blond boy hide himself somewhere in the house (or in the garage, God knows why Bee keeps going there now that he is human).

Sam takes a deep breath and step on the driveway, under the rain. Probably he should have rely more on an umbrella more than on the deep breath, because by now his underpants are wet and he feels miserable.

(But he is doing it for Bee, so it's ok)

yeah, Bee. Three days are passed since the former scout simply appeared at his door-step, tormented eyes asking for no-question and t-shirt and jeans so full of desert dust that Sam couldnt guess their colors to save his life.

And two days are passed since Optimus showed himself on the school park (that morning he jump couple of classes, but he cannot regret it) and told Sam what happen to the NEST HQ.

And two days since Sam yelled to a giant robot from another world that one had to be stupid to think that an orphan, moreover one abandoned by his caretaker in the Young's Sector during one of the worst and more lethal bombardment of their history, will take gracefully to being send away by the only family he have.

(And yes, Optimus, Bee told to his charge all his story in a far away night of driving-around activities, and at that time Bee had described the Prime's team like the heroic mech whom save him, but now Sam and Bee have both to deal with the fact that even Optimus is fallible and can takes wrong decision.)

He yelled to the big robot to go away, that he was going to take care of Bee by his own, thank you for nothing, and he was sure he wouldn't see the red and blu Peterbilt for some time. Seems he was wrong.

"Optimus, what I can do for you?" his voice sounds colder than what he want, but he is stressed and tired because Bee keeps having nightmares during the night (sometimes Sam wonder if those are a novelty from his human body or if he used to have them in his garage as well)

"The whether forecast said there will be a storm…."

"Oh, really? I didn't notice that! Why. Are. You. Here?"

"… I… Bee is scared of thunders… they remind him of the Young's Sector bombardment…"

"…"

"Optimus!" Bee's voice save Sam from the necessity of answer to the big truck.

The blond boy is just appeared next to Sam (so yes, he was in the garage, again…) and seems already more soaked than Sam… the taller boy notices Bee shiver, and is ready to lead in back inside his house, and probably under an hot shower, when Bee suddenly runs and climbs in the trunk cabin.

He briefly turns to Sam, and sadly smiling "I will be ok, come back inside Same"

* * *

"That is true? Do you came here for me?"

"Sure little on-…" "Even now that I'm squishy and weak and useless and my brain is not advanced as used to be and…"

"Hush, hush little one…. Bee, you are my son, doesn't matter how you are tall or strong… Did you love Sam less because he is not a cybertronian?"

"No, but… " sigh "You want send me away, and I guessing it is because I'm useless now…"

"Ooh, my little Bee, no, no, is not that… I wanna give you the possibility to have a real life, like the one you would had if the war haven't destroy our world! I want you go to school, to watch a movie, hanging out with some friend of your age… fall in love"

"But I want to stay with you, with my family! please don't send me away!"

"Hush, Bee, I understand… we will figure out something...Do you want to go to school with Sam and Mikaela, don't you?"

"Yes, but only if doesn't means that I have to leave you!" since he still in his truck form, Optimus can only imagine that little pout.

"Bee, you use to be alone for longer periods during your scout duties.."

"But those times I was sure I would come back to you!"

"What if you stay at the NEST bases and go to Sam school during the day… With the others we can make shift to drive you there and came to collect you when you have finish"

"hm, Optimus, sir, you will have to drive two hours to go and two to came back and…"

"I will consider it a patrol"

"You seem to have put enough thought on it.."

"I just wanna you consider it as an option…"

"Ok, I will… … Optimus?"

"Yes?"

"Can I sleep here tonight?"

"Of course, little one, of course"


	7. Chapter 7

just couple of clarification:

1\. my NEST HQ is NOT in Diego Garcia (I don't like the history of that place, and the story is mine and I decide, sorry),

2\. My bad, i the 5th chapter I define Lennox "Major", but he is Captain

3\. As usual, I own notting, only the bad ideas and the grammar errors, Transformers belong to Hasbro

* * *

Will walks in the cafeteria. It's past two in the morning, and he just finished his paperwork, and he want a coffee, a shower and a bed, in this order.

No one should be around at this hour, and indeed he cannot see anyone sitting on the tables. For this reason the sounds of a turned page scared him, and he whines in a manly way. (or in a girlish way, if you ask to someone else…)

The whine, whether girlish or manly that be, gets Bee's attention. Bee, who is in a edge of the cafeteria, sitting on the ground with this back leaning against the wall's corner, again alone, but with a laptop and several books all around him and a content expression on his face.

"Hello Cap- I mean, Will."

The kid's smile is brighter now, and Will understand why quite often Hide refers to Bee like 'their little sun'. "Hi Bee, you shouldn't be sleeping at this time?"

"Cannot sleep, and these books are so interesting!"

Will, despite his tiredness, smiles in return "Are you studying for the admission test for the high school, right?"

"Yeah! I'm glad Optimus sort of insist for it… I mean, he knows how much I like know about new cultures, and every time that some of the Ark's scouts find a new culture, they always brought me back some books or data pad or simile, and Ratchet always says that if I had been sparked in the peace time, I would have been good chances to became a Xenologist, that is the coolest thing ever and …"

"Kid kid, breath, please"

"Sorry, Ratchet doesn't allow me to drink Cola during the day, well, he actually disapprove it at all, but during the night what he cannot see cannot hurt him, right?, so I have couple of cans, and you know…"

Will's smile became a smirk, "That's why you cannot sleep!"

Seems that children still children whatever planet they born on.

Will sits close to the blonde teenager, and suddenly reminds that Bee is not only a child, is a baby soldier. Sitting close to him, indeed, he can see how this position is tactically well chosen, guaranteeing plenty visibility of the whole room, including the entrance, the corridor and the emergency exit, and of the window that looks on the main gate, directly in front of them, but shielded from the views thanks to the tables all around.

Will absorbs all this and after that he turn to Bee, who is giving him a considering looks "I spent my whole life in war, Captain, and I can looks like a child, but my spark is older of your race"

"I'm sorry for this, no child should grow up in the middle of a war" that is the reason he join the Army, indeed,

"I suppose that in this case we should thanks the Deceptions that bombard the Youngs' Sectors and save almost every youngling of my race from this fate"

Will is completely catch off-guard from this riot "I wasn't…"

"I know, is just… I'm young, but also too old for set phrases and rhetoric"

Bee's smile now is little and sad, and Will would give everything to take his words back and let Bee has his little content sugar rush.

"I'm glad that you stops to talk to me, is quite lonely here anyway"

Damn kid seems able to read his mind…

"You bring your thoughts writed clearly on your front, Captain, you should relax or you will became all wrinkled and grumpier that Ironhide!"

"Ahah lad, you are funny, and scary, maybe more scary than funny, and with Epps you could be the best comedian duo of the HQ"

"I like Epps, he sparred with me couple of time, before get to involved with Nina"

"Who? And what? Sparring? You are only a child, he shouldn't fight against you!"

Bee is bitting his lower lip, and looks younger than before "Please, don't be angry at him, he was just trying to make me feel less alone… Moreover, I defyed him, and I'm used to spar with Ironhide, and other mechs older and taller and stronger than me, and it wasn't a problem, I don't wanna be a problem maker, I was just trying to feels like the old me again…" the boy ends with a whisper.

Will arm is around Bee shoulder, and the Captain wonder if this emotional swing are normal for teenagers (and in that case, God help him when Annabelle will grow to that phase) or if this little one history make him more sensible, or again if Will is simply not able to communicate as he wish so late in the night or…

This train of thought is interrupted by Bee who, leaning back on him, sigh in relief and almost purr, starving for physical contact. Will's other hand, the one that isn't on the boy shoulder, start to pet the blond hair.

He intends just hold the boy a little bit longer, maybe till the kid fall asleep so he can carry him in the rec. room where couches are. Or maybe he can bring the boy to a real bed. Doesn't matter, because in the same time the kid slumbers in Captain's arm, Will surrender to his sleep.

Next thing Will knows is that Epps is kicking is feet, and that the day light is streaming from the window. As is mind start to work properly, he also realize three things: first, the boy is gone; second, someone wrap him in a blanket; third, he is too old to sleep a whole night on the floor…

"Good morning sunshine!"

"Grrmmm" Epps is too cheerful for this morning...

"So, Epps, who is Nina?"

that is something that bother him yesterday night, and now the embarrassed reaction of his friend makes him even more curious

"Ehmmm"

"Spit it out!"

"How told you about Nina?"

"I have my spies all around!" Will flaunt what he hopes is a evil smile (even if Sara always said he is just cute with it).

"So why you are asking me, if you already know? and I'm the one that brings you gossip, man, who in the hell told you that one?"

"He was someone you are not supposed to spar with, but you sparred with anyway…"

"That little…"

"So you spar with him! How can you do something so stupid? The boy is still recovering from the accident and the transplant or whatever it was!"

"Chill out, man, I didn't hurt him… well, to be completely honest with you, the boy got some very good moves…"

"No way, he wipe the floor with your sorry ass, didn't he?"Will is laughing at the image of his trusted sergeant, almost 100 kilograms and 1 meter and 86, beaten by a one meter and half boy that probably of arrive to 50 kilograms only all dressed and wet.

"The boy snuck on Ironhide and me a weeks ago"

"Do you mean, before that little disappearance trick the pull on us?"

"Yep"

"Man, he is really good"

"I know but.." Will can sees how this is going to end

"Can we keep it?" the whiny tone of the sergeant Epps confirms all Will's worry,

"No"

"Please dad, he follow me this here!"

Will cannot hide the smile, but still "No"

"Why he cannot keeps it, or he or she or whatever it was?" Bee arrives with a smile and three paper mugs that smells like fresh coffee.

"you are my angel, and I wanna keeps you with us forever and ever!"

"Epps, restrain yourself, Bee, don't worry, he is scaring but harmless"

Bee's face seems confused and a little lost "harmless? Isn't he your Combat Controller Technical Sergeant?"

"Yeah, well, you know what I mean…"

Bee puppy eyes looks at him lost "Nope" Actually Will isn't sure if the boy doesn't understand or his just teasing him

Epps, only for this time in his life, decides to be useful out of a battle contest, and save him from have to explain to the boy about pedos and other horrors

"Kid, are you join us for the morning training?"

If looks could kill, Epps would be pushing up daisies from now, because you cannot save a dude from being embarrassed to death proposing something that will make three giant overprotective mech kill him.

But the attention of the boy get successfully redirect, and the smile on Bee face prevents Will from takes it back. He can just pray that the three overprotective mechs will not find out anything.

yeah, big chances on it….

* * *

survey:

when I started this work I was thinking to go for the topic "teenager in love" with Bee/Sam and Sam/Mikaela and Mikaela/Bee, because teenagers hormones rules! add the school, the bullies, and probably also a shooter in the high school with BAMF!Bee (but maybe there will be military that invades the school looking for Bee and kidnapping him and Sam (BAMF!Bee, BAMF!Sam, Whump!Bee)

now I'm not sure anymore if keep it on that direction or go for a rare pairing Bee/Lennox. I mean, for the moment we know only Will point of view, but what about Bee? You can imagine? and a young boy, neglected by his family, falls hard for the only man that show him some care. Even more, Epps/Bee/Lennox, and maybe I find the courage to write the exlicit sex scene that I got in my mind for a while

Age differences, marrige, explicit sex...

which one you would like to read?


	8. Chapter 8

Bee knows that his pacing around is driving Sam mad.

In the last couple of weeks, thanks also to the summer break, they fell in a routine: in the morning Bee, and sometime Sam, will train with Will squad meanwhile Mikaela spend time with Ratcher, learning how to heal Cybertronians. They still work on Bee's body as well, but the possibilities that the yellow mech return the same as before are few… In the afternoon Bee will have Sam's and Mikaela's lessons on "how to act like an human teenager" or, in other words, hang around, go to the cinema or for shopping and be young healthy human beings.

In the evening, or night, Bee will sneak out of his bed and studies for his test, the one that should determine which class he is going to be put in, and end up to have a cup of tea with Will, when the Captain finish his work and before Ironhide take him back to his farm.

Last week Sam made a joke about Bee having a crush on Will, and Bee suspect that if the boy didn't talk again about that is only for the fears of Mikaela's kick.

That is a good routine, but today is going in a different way. This morning their defense system identify a Decepticon signature, 200 miles away from Tranquillity. So, the three teenager are waiting for the NEST squad to come back from the fight, and Bee cannot stay still, too worried and nervous for his comrades.

Suddenly, a crash noise come from the medbay, and the three teenager run there, Mikaela in the first position as she feels responsible for the medbay when Ratchet is not there.

The noise come from the corner of the room where Jazz's and Bee's offlines bodies are lying. They aren't the only two body, since Ratchet keeps some Decepticons body to take parts.

The room is dark when they enter, and so Mikaela doesn't realize whom is making those noises till she runs directly in the arms of a Cybertronian, one of those the Allspark generated when Sam was carrying the cube around.

This one looks like it was a vending machine if the logo on his side can be consider a clue.

the Former vending machine is holding Mikaela now, and is shooting to the two boys.

Ducking under a berth, shielding Sam with his own body, Bee wishes Ratchet had controlled better for signs of life before take "replacement part" here at the base. He also wish he had bring with him a weapon, even just the throwing knife Epps give him after one of their training session. But more of everything else, he wish he can go back in his real body.

This time his wish is not only drive by the "I'm unhappy in this body" thought, neither by the "I cannot help my family in this way" one. No, this time this wish is based on "is my duty as a guardian protect Sam and I will protect him with my life if it is necessary, but all the strategies I can think now are rubbish and ended with the death of all of us" thought.

So, he keeps thinking, and keeps wishing and he start to feel something strange, like if something is flutter inside him. He recognizes his spark, whose is singing for be released, and he feels like he's getting the possibility of push is spark back in his old, real body. He indulge this feeling, and start to push, and the feeling become so strong that dark spot appears on is vision. With a final push his spark free itself, and Bee surrender to the darkness.

* * *

Sam is terrified. One of those creatures that populated his nightmares is there, and it got Mikaela.

He can feel Bee chest pressed again his back, and is amusing as Bee still act as his guardian regardless his size and his body.

Sam turns to Bee to talk with him and sees if they boy got a strategy, but any question run out of his mind as he sees Bee stagger, and he barely manage to grab the younger boy when he faints.

Sam starts to looks for wounds as he hold Bee at his chest, and he almost miss the crackle from one of the berth.

But after he can just holds the boy and watches as the yellow bot, his wounded guardian, saves Mikaela and rip apart the vending machine. the whole procedure last less that two minutes, and after that the last standing cybertronian collapses on ground with a whine, holding his spark chamber.

"Bee!"


	9. Chapter 9

Bee is touch and go for a while and Ratchet worked nights and days to save him.

Apparently his spark tried to go back in the human body when the pain in the other one became overwhelming, but without the spark-relocator (yeah, Ratchet is still working on the name...) it got stucked half way, outside both bodies, in the thin air, and Ratchet had to modify the tool to take it back in the teenager body.

After this, it takes to Ratchet three days to lower his own spark rate to a normal, not terrified, level.

When Bee wakes up, Sam is holding his hand, and Bee doesn't know why, but feels himself blush.

He get no time to analyze this strange feeling that is twisting is gut, because Will and Epps burst into the room, and are on his side in no time.

Sam leaves his side to let the older duo came closer, and just watch the three of them on the bed, from his new position against the door, with an indecipherable looks in his eyes.

When Epps gently put an hand on Bee's cheek, and asks with a soft voice if he feels ok, Sam's look just turn darker, and the boy run away muttering something about getting Ratchet.

Bee feels like he is missing something, and the complicity smile between Will and Epps, and the "puppy love" whispered by this last mentioned man, confirms this feeling.

But now the two soldiers are going all mother hens on him, and he doesn't get the possibility to ask any further.

Epps is really glad that the kid is fine, that little ninja is growing on him, and like if this day is not amusing enough, the little display of jealousy the Witwicky boy, as well as Bee's clueless face, are just the cherry on the top of it.

A week is passed since Bee waked up, and even if everything seems back to the hold routine, something is changed.

It's like the air is full of expectations, but Optimus cannot tell why to save is own life.

But if he has to take a long shot, he would says that Bee is involved.

Maybe is just for the looks on the boy's face, fulfill with a new hope, but looks like Bee is up to something.

Bee is up to something.

Ratchet knows it, in his metallic gut.

Stuffs are missing from his medbay, and he knows that looks on Bee's face. And also, Bee is the only one good enough to enter in the medbay, steal something and get out without let anyone notice him.

When he confronts the youngling, Bee promises that everyone will be glad if his plan works, otherwise he don't wanna give false hope to anyone.

"Please, believe me Ratchet, that will fix everything!"

Ratchet hugs him, firm as he dares, and send a pray to Primus to not broke this youngling's spark again and let's that plan works.

Bee is up to something.

Hide can see a new hope in Bee's eyes...

He missed this hope in the last months, he just wish he will not hurt himself, both physically or emotionally, again.

Bee is up to something.

Will notices he is more determined during the training and Bee's grin is becoming his signature for the fights

Noone of the soldiers wanna spar with the little ninja when he get that grin on his face.

Bee is up to something.

Mikaela knows that Ratchet knows, and during one of their afternoon "only for human teenagers" she pushes Bee for an answer.

She really hope Sam would help her, but her boyfriend seems has something in his mind. Well, he started to act out when Ratchet took Bee's fainted body from his arms, and got even worst when the blond boy waked up. Mikaela can see the looks Sam is giving to Bee now, and she wish she didn't.

Bee is up to something

But Sam is more interested in the skinny jeans Bee is wearing (a Mikaela choice, good, good choice) to be worried about it. Sam know he shouldn't let himself think this of his best friend, he couldn't in the past when said best friend was a soldier robot from another planet, and he cannot now that he is four years younger than him. He should be in love with Mikaela, he IS in love with Mikaela, he just like Bee like a friend, that's all. A friend that almost died several times to save him, a friend that make Sam feel safe, a friend Sam have dirty dreams about... No, don't go there, just friend...

So, even if Bee is up to something, Sam is more interested in Bee's big, sweet, baby blue eyes to be worried about it.

Well, this is true at least until Bee start to explain.


	10. Chapter 10

Bee's explanation wasn't enough for Mikaela, so Bee is showing them what he was talking about.

Sam is looking at him with this intense look, and it takes all Bee's strength to stay still in front of them, but he cannot avoid blushing.

"Bee..." Sam starts, but he looks like he is not sure how to proceed.

"Bee... In not ... unusual... for people who have a close death experience to reports that they can feel the ... deceased beloveds... but there are not scientific proof that that can be true..." Mikaela tries to explain but Bee stop her.

"I know what I felt! His spark still here, I can save him! And he will figure out how to make us a family again, he always manage to do so!"

It's only when Mikaela hugs him that Bee realises he started to cry...

"Jazz will save us, I know it..." Bee mutter in Mikaela's t-shirt.

* * *

Mikaela holds Bee, her left arm around the boy's shoulders, her right hand between the blond locks. She tries to get eyes contact with Sam, but the boy's eyes are fixed on the body in the berth in front of them.

It's required months to grows the Bee's body to its actual age, but Bee seems to have find a way to improve the technology, since the body looks already like a 20years old male in less than a month... The boy, man, is handsome, with a black smooth skin and perfect dreadlocks and she wonders for a second if Bee was the one who made them. She sighs to herself, of course he did! Bee didn't show the body (Jazz, she correct herself) to anyone before...

She tighter the embrace, and Bee reacts stepping back rubbing his eyes with the sleeve.

Sam's hearth cringes, in front of him Bee is trying to recompose himself, but his cheeks are streaked by tears, his eyes are red and his hairs are messed up. And still, he looks gorgeous with all his skinny and sharp features and tormented eyes.

Mikaela was faster than him to hugs the distressed boy, but probably is for the best, he's not sure if his own body would behave hugging the protagonist of his latest wet dreams. It isn't a matter of embarrassing himself, or avoid to have Epps and Lennox came after him for blood, no, the matter is, he cannot live with himself if he provokes more distress to Bee, especially since it's all Sam's fault if Bee is in a human body now. /I almost kill him... he save my life and for a stupid night ride I almost kill him, I don't deserve him!/

* * *

Sam is so lost in his thoughts that Mikaela has to poke him to get his attention. "We are leaving...let's go to have a cup of tea, ok?" Sam just nods and looks at Bee, who managed to clean his face and fix his hairs. Bee smiles at him, a little, unsure smile, and Sam's mind cannot avoid to run away /kiss him, hug him, drop at his feet and swear you will protect him and make him happy and that you will make everything go better.../ and Mikaela has to push him through the door, out from the little room Bee occupied with his 'project'.

Sam is so distracted that when he steps from the door and hits something, it's takes some seconds to process the fact. Fortunately, neither the other one was expecting someone to step on him, and that saves Sam life. Well, Bee save his life /again/ grabbing his shirt and pulling him back in the room.

Mikaela, who had let Bee go first and so she hadn't see anything, looks at the two of them cluelessly.

"Another Decepticon... he is just out of the door!" Sam explain meanwhile Bee climbs on the wall to the air conduct.

"Bee, I'm afraid we won't fit in it..."

Bee ignores her, and just grabs a weapon from the vent conduct, jumps back, opens the door and shoots two times at the Decepticon, to the spark chamber and head.

Standing on the death Decepticon, apparently another vending machine, Bee finally looks at her " well, what about that cup of tea?"

* * *

Meanwhile, in a unknown location, two military are looking at the rec from the death Decepticon.

"Their progress on the fast breeding technology are remarkable..."

"yeah... Let's follow them, see what we can use as 'leverage'..."


	11. Chapter 11

"Jeez, Bee, I'm pretty sure I should feeling offended…" Sam says with a pout.

"What for Sammy?" Bee looks innocent and clueless. A week is passed since the "vending machine accident - part 2", and Bee is in front of the school main entrance, showing his timetable to his closest human friends.

"Because YOU have the same classes as ME" Sam is shocked. He's also amused that he will be able to see him all days all the day, but still, the blonde is 13, he is 4 years younger, for Primus sakes!

"Oh, oh that… well, I still your guardian, so I manage to be with you as much as possible!" Bee's smile is the brightest, Cheshire cat grin he'd ever seen.

"You cheated, don't you?" Mikaela looks amused."You shouldn't be one of the good boy?"

"Well, cheat is such a big word…" Bee was bitting is bottom lip, and Sam wondering from who he takes this habit

"Beeee!"

"I mean, is not a big deal… I just jumped couple of question and gave few of wrong answers to be sure to be in your same range"

Sam was speechless, so Mikaela asks: "you simulate a test at home at the best of your ability?"

"Yeah.."

"And?"

"And I could jump the high school and go to the college now, but my investigation of your culture suggests that high school is more related to improve social skill rather than improve only the knowledge, and I'm sure that this will offer a great opportunity to learn more about teenagers in their main environment." Bee stony face seems too old for his young features.

"Oh" is the only answer Sam can produce.

At this Bee face opens in smile and he adds "Well, this, and if I had to spend time with old boring adults, I would prefer to stay in the NEST rather than in a College. I can wait to explore the human interaction and behavior of individual at the further level of instruction next year"

"Wow, now I know what been a the guinea pigs feels like" Sam is amazed

"Ok then, are you ready for starting this anthropological study?" Mikaela tease him.

"yeah…" he restart to bit is lower lip, and he looks so young and innocent that Mikaela have to reassure him "that will be nothing comparing to fight a battle without you legs"

"But at least in that case I'm sure I know what I'm doing" Bee' whisper go unheard as Mikaela and Sam are already on the stairs.

* * *

They are halfway through the first day, and through the math class, one of the few Bee and Sam don't share with Mikaela, when the first gunshot broke the silence.

Their corridor seems free and they try to make a run for the front door. Their teacher is the last one, her duty is make sure everyone escape safely.

There are running steps approaching from the other wing of the school, and Bee grab Sam's wrist and pull him in the janitor room.

The other students don't notice them, as well as the teacher. The two can hear their screams, as well as one single gun shot that make everyone going silent.

A male voice command the students in the canteen, and give to his men - soldier Bee deduce - orders for keeping them quite.

* * *

They wait. Sometime, when they enter in this room, Bee covers the other teen mouth with his hand.

Now he release him, and turn to check on the wellbeing of the older boy. Sam looks fine, a little bit scared as it's normal for the situation, but he's not loosing it, and that is a relief for the blonde.

"I will bring you out from this mess, I promise!" Bee is all business like, and all Sam can do is smile at the shorter boy. "Yeah, you always do that", after that pushed from an instinct that says now or never you could both die now, Sam gently caresses Bee's cheek and kisses him.

Bee is not sure of when he close is eyes, nor of when he lifts himself on the tiptoe to reach the other one better and kiss him back. He's sure, anyway, that this is the best moment of his life.

Of course that is the moment the soldiers find them.

* * *

Apparently they were the target, and Bee can spot another vending machine turned cybertronian between the soldiers.

Bee and Sam are pushed on a van, their faces covered by sacks, and they are running away in no time.

* * *

Apparently Bee was the target, not Sam. Sam, as they explain for them, is just a leverage.

They want the fast breeding technology, and the only two able to use it are Bee and Ratchet.

Apparently kidnap a 13 years old skinny boy looked easier that the alternative.

"What do you wanna that technology for?"

Bee is not really interested, he is just trying to stall the situation as long as possible.

The man whom answer, the one that looks in charge, do it with a stony and emotionless face.

"We wanna create an army. At the first, we were interested in have it made of metal, as the vending machine you destroyed a week ago. We start to follow your kin, to gain knowledge on how create more of those the we retrieved from Mission City, but that technology looks disappeared with the Cube. And just when our hopes were fading, your accident showed as a new path.

With the fast breeding technology we will be able to clone the same soldier in no time, and we will have the biggest army ever!"

Bee hate this man, he looks mad and scaring, and this time he knows for sure that he will have to be conform and gain more time for the others to find them or for himself to figure out a way out.

"What if I would like not help you?"

"You don't have to 'like' it, but you will do it anyway"

"Why he should?"Sam yells

"Oh, well, let's play a little game: I brought here 104 student plus the two of you. Bumblebee here has two week of time to give me the first grew up soldier. For every day I had to wait, I will kill that amount of students, so the first day, tomorrow, I will kill one student, the second day two of them, the third one three and so on. The last day, I will kill 13 students, and Samuel."

"Wait, you cannot pretend I give you something by tomorrow, I need to set up and procure the materials and…"

"And we already procure for you all the element you used for that body in the hided room"

Bee's brain was already in overdrive, trying to figure out how to escape from this situation. They have other hostages, and that means he will not just fight his way out, unless he get a diversion… Mmm, with the elements he have in his hands, which kind of weapon he could realize? a bomb seems the easiest way, but how kill them without kill Sam and himself in the process?

Or he have to give up and second the psychopath. But his technique required one month for a grow up man. He have a night. He cannot, he cannot so that in time "Please, I need more time that that!"

"No, and another word and Sam will be upgraded to day seven."

And that is the end of the conversation.


	12. Chapter 12

Sam is terrified. At the start they kept him with Bee, but after the other boy made the lab explode and tried to get the hostages free, they got them separated.

Now Sam is hold with the other students. Every evening soldiers come in and take some of them out. No-one ever come back. Yesterday they took seven guys, couple of them were in his same class last year. They were frighted. And even if Sam knows they will keep him for the last day, he feels scared as well, for himself and for the boys all around him.

When the door opens that evening, someone starts to cry and someone else tries to make the first one stops, but apart for that, no one moves, to frightened to direct the attention on himself.

But the soldiers that enter this evening, they are wearing different uniform from the ones of the days before. Before Sam can metabolize that, William Lennox is kneeling in front of him "Are you ok Sam?"

As the other soldiers take care of the 76 other boys, Epps joins Will in front of the traumatized teenager, "Sam thank God! Are you ok?Can you walk?Where is Bee?"

The last question is the one that wakes Sam from is numbness. "They keep him in another room, a laboratory. they wanna use him for generate a army of clones!"

"Ok, we will find him, you have to go with the other students, there are ambulances and pullman and our big friends outside" Will's voice is all business, but Sam can see behind is stony face that he is worries about Bee.

"I will stay with you, and I will bring Bee out of this place!" Sam riots over that, as he stands in front of the soldier.

"but…" "Will, we have no time for this" Epps interrupts him, and turning toward Sam handing him his gun "I showed you how to use it, try to stay behind us, shot only if is necessary, and aim to the legs. Let's go"

* * *

The complex is a labyrinth, but they manage to capture a technician and he lead them to the right lab.

Sam was sure he was ready. In hindsight he was completely wrong. He cannot force himself into the room, and Will just nods at him and to the other soldiers and commands them to lookout to the corridor. He enters in the lab with Epps and the technician.

* * *

Epps' grasp on the technician shirt tightens. "What happen here?" he asks in a growl.

"E-e-every evening th-th-they bring here some hostages, and they kill them in front of him. Th-they leave the corpses here with him till the next evening, when they bring in a bigger g-g-group"

The technician stammers about the number of guys to be the same of the number of days, "Th-they are keeping hi-his friend for the l-l-last day" but Will is not listening at him anymore, too concentrate on "him", the blonde boy who seems still working on something on one of the table without looks in their direction.

"Bee.." Will tries, hesitantly, to gain the boy's attention "Bumblebee?"

"I'm sorry I cannot be faster, I cannot make it works faster, I had to finish, I had to save them, I couldn't save them all, but I still need to save them…" Bee's tone is broken, with an edge of hysteria, and Will finds himself lost on how to help him.

"Bee, you are safe. They are safe. Don't you wanna come out and see Sam?" Epps tone is the one you could use with a frighten baby, or with a shady animal. The technician tries to run away, and Will mindless hope the soldiers outside will take care of him.

"No, I…"

"Bee, please…" Epps places an hand on Bee shoulder, relieved when the boy seems ok with the physical contact. The boy still unable to establish eyes contact with them, eyes fixed on the machine he's working on, and when Epps try to pull him far from the table, the boy react violently "No, I had to finish, I cannot let more of them die, please, PLEASE, I need more time, more time! GIVE ME MORE TIME, PLEASE!" He is hysteric now, his hand outstretched toward the machine and his face streaked by tears as Epps drags him further, hugging him on the ground.

"Please, I have to save Sam, I need to save Sam" Bee's pleading voice breaks the soldiers heart. Will is kneeling in front of them now, his hands restrain gently Bee' cheeks. "Bee, look at me. It's me, Will. You are safe now, and Sam is safe as well. He is just outside, he is waiting for us…"

Bee keeps sobbing as he try to get ride of the two men. "I have to finish it, I have to protect Sam" Is voice is feeble, and fade away as his eyes fall on the bodies o the corner. "I couldn't save them… I cannot save anyone, right?"

When Will suddenly stand up, Epps can only hold the boy tighter and watch his friend storms out of the door. He starts wondering if the situation is became to overwhelming for his Captain, even if he knows the man to by tough. Well, the situation is heartbreaking, and he will not keep it against him if he really run away, but at lest a warning could be welcomed.

But Will is coming back, and Sam is with him. Sam avoids to look at the corpses all around, and just stands close to the table, unsure on what he's supposed to do.

Will kneels again in from of Bee, who still silently sobbing and watching at the bodies, and again gently forces Bee to look at him "Bee, Sam is here, he is safe"

"Sam?"

Bee's voice sounds so little and tensed, and Sam's legs decide for him: they advance of few steps, and after drop Sam on his knees. "I'm here Bee, everything will be fine, ok? Let's go home, ok?"

"Sam? I'm sorry, Sam, so sorry, so sorry…" Epps release his grip on the boy, ready to grab him back in any moment.

Bee just duck in Sam's arms, and both the teenagers start crying loud for the first time in a week.

When Bee fall asleep, or unconscious anyway, Sam refuse to let him go, and carries him, bridal style, out of their prison, by himself. He sit on one of the ambulances bed with his precious cargo still in his arms, and refuse to let him go. He smile to the paramedic that bring them a blanket, and let another one takes Bee' vitals, but his vice-like grip on the other boy still tightened. Tomorrow, or in a week, when everything will start fading and Bee will looks less pale and scared, tomorrow he will let Bee out of his sight, till that moment, the sound of Bee breathing is the only thing that keep him sane.


	13. Chapter 13

Glad to see you again, sorry for this delay, the bloody white page won this round for couple of weeks...

I should warn you: Mental health issue and suicide attempt. It's just a chapter full of angst, so probably you can skip it if you don't like this kind of stuff and still understanding the plot.

* * *

Sam woke up in his bed in his parent house.

it was alone, and it felt strange: since their rescue, didn't matter how or where they felt asleep, Bee managed to snuck in Sam's bed almost everynight . Not that the teenager could complain about that, the blond boy was almost catatonic all the time, and that was his only active action those days. Actually, Sam felt quite bad for leaving the NEST bases the day before, but his parents didn't see him since the kidnap, and they needed as much reassurance as his little Bee.

/He is mine, right? We kissed in the janitor room…/

/Yeah,but that was before he sustain major psychological torture, you know? he is not the same anymore!/ his mind self-argued all the time, those days.

But wasn't that argument that woke up him.

No, it was something else. He idly looked around, till he spotted his cell phone blinking and vibrating on the nightstand. Looking at the screen, two things became clear for the brunette: one, he slept barely three hours and, two, Will Lennox should have a damn good reason to call him at two in the morning.

"Hello, Will?"

"Sam! thank God!…. I need you to speak with Bee! like now!"

"What?" but that was too late, as Will wasn't listening Sam anymore.

"Sam?" the small, afraid voice of Bee came from the speaker, and Sam's heart cringe for how broke his friend sounded.

"hey Bee, what's up?"

"Are you ok? They didn't hurt you?"

"Bee?"

"I'm sorry, so so Sorry Sam, I was supposed to protect you, but they took you and I wasn't able to protect anyone, and they died, oh Primus, all that poor boys died for no reason, only because I wasn't good enough, and I sorry Sam, please forgive me!" Bee was begging and sobbing now, and all Sam would like to do was run to the NEST base and hold the younger boy in his arms.

"Bee, I'm ok, we are fine now…sh, Bee, I'm fine " Sam kept hushing at him till the sobbing sound from the telephone didn't stop "Ok Bee, everything is ok buddy…. could you let me speak with Will now?"

the only answer was a little sniff and after the adult and authoritative, even if a little afraid, voice of the captain came from the the speaker now.

"Thank you Sam, he will be fine now…"

"What happen?"

"I guess he got one of those nightmare were he wasn't able to save you, and in his condition he cannot tell the difference between a dream and the reality anymore…"

"Will, what happened?"

"Just a nightmare Sam, sorry, but now I have to bring back Bee in his room and tuck him in. Chat more tomorrow, lad, ok?"

"But…"

"Go back to sleep Sam"

"Ok, but tomorrow I want the complete story…"

Sam hear Will sigh, and a little mumble from Bee that he couldn't decipher. "Ok, Sam, we will talk tomorrow."

"Good"

"And Sam?"

"Yes?"

"Thanks again for your help, lad. Good night"

"Sure, take care of him, would you?"

"No probs."

* * *

As he hang up, Will started wondering if he would be able to tell Sam what happened. But again, the signs on Bee skins would tell Sam good part of the story.

Since they had brought back the two boys, it wasn't the first night he had found Bee in the common bathroom. Couple of days after the rescue, indeed, he'd walked in the common bathroom and found him there. He had been under the shower, sitting on the ground with his knees drawn to his chest. Will hadn't been able to see his face under the soaked golden locks, but the tiny teenager had been crying, if the spasms of his chest had been any clue. The boy hadn't noticed him, and had kept scrubbing his hands and arms roughly enough to make them bleeding.

Coming closer, the captain had realized the boy had been whispering at himself, crying that he cannot remove the blood from his hands.

"Bee, please, stop" Will had pleaded "You are hurting yourself…" The Captain had knelt next to the boy, unconcerned for his clothes to get soaked. He had grabbed the tiny wrists of the kid in front of him with one hand, and had lifted Bee's chin with the other to establish eye contact with the little one. "Kiddo, please, there is no blood, you are safe, you are ok"

"They died, their blood is all over my hands, its all my fault…"

That time it had taken Will the whole night to calm down the broken kid, and to convince him back into his bed, and moreover into a dry pajamas, and even there Bee had grabbed his hand and pleaded him to stay there till he had fallen asleep again. Will had ended up spending the whole night in wet cloths, and Epps would had made fun of I'm to get a flu in that way if the sergeant hadn't felt so scared for the little blonde.

It was strange, during the day the boy had looked almost catatonic, spending hours staring walls or lying where others had placed him, like on a couch, or, more frequently, hided in the chest plates of his fellows autobot, close to their spark chambers. Those were the few moment when he'd looked more present, more aware of what happen around him. But again, not able to go anywhere by himself.

So, the only activity he'd performed so far had been his excursions to the common showers.

Excursions, plural, like in multiple event, like in three times only that week. And so Will had taken the habit of checking on the human cybertronian every night, and he'd stopped him, and tucked him back in the bed, Bee's one or even better Sam's one, comforting him all the way back. But this time, this time had been the worst one.

They had secured and hided all the weapons, but in hindsight it was obvious that the little ninja had his personal resources hided all around. And that had sort of explained how the throwing knife ended up in Bee hold.

Will's hold on Bee' shoulders tightened as his thoughts went back to the scene of few minutes before. He had been sort of used to the sight of the boy under the shower, with his jeans soaked and the fetal position, what he hadn't been used to, and he didn't want become used to, was the sight of said boy's arms, cut open and bleeding or the hopeless expression of the blonde as he'd stared at his injured forearms and at the blood running into the drain.

Bee had been immobile, staring at the blood with a stony face than wasn't something that looked ok on him, again catatonic, at last till Will'd touched him.

As soon as the older soldier had lied an hand on the younger one arm, trying to stop the blood as well as to ground the broken boy, Bee had started to cry and yell and had tried to get rid of him.

He had yelled that he deserve to die, that was all his fault if Sam died, that he cannot stand this life anymore now that he failed his best friend and charge so badly. It'd taken half of hour just to convince him that Sam was alive, and to let Will wrap the injured arm in Will' shirt and to call Sam.

Will suddenly realized that the young (suicide) boy had cried himself to sleep (again) as Will had been lost in his memories, so the brunette lifted the boy in his arms and brought him in the infirmary to get this wound checked and sticked. After that, he brought his light bundle to Optimus quarters, praying that the cybertronian leader would know how to deal with his little child. And anyway, after a rough night like this, anyone would like to wake up with his dad, right?


	14. Chapter 14

Optimus is loosing hope. His Bee always bounces back, but this time looks like his son' spark is broken for real. He tried anything to help him, and he will keep doing so forever, if that is necessary, but Bee is fading, his yellow hopeful boy has no fight left in him.

Since Captain Lennox told him what happened that night, Optimus spark ached in lost, grief and fear. Oh, his poor, poor son.

"Optimus" Sam run in his chambers without knock "Will told me what happened! I… it's Bee ok? May I see him? I mean, I understand if you hate me and you don't want me be around, it's my fault, I should have been here yesterday night… And that is not all… I mean, I know that is all my fault, this whole situation is my fault!" the young man looks as much miserable and broken as his little Bee. Even if a part of him want blame Sam for everything, he knows that the two boys just found themselves in the wrong place in the wrong moment. Or maybe wrong places. That was Bee main ability.

"Sam, it's okay, nothing of this situation is your fault. Come here young man"

Optimus let Sam steps on his hand, and lifts the boy to his chest. He lifts his chest plates, allowing Sam to see the sleeping form of his guardian.

"May I…?" Sam sounds unsure at least, and, even if Prime isn't sure what the boy is asking for, grants him with a little nod.

Sam hesitates a moment, takes a deep breath and steps in Optimus chest, wrapping himself around the broken blonde.

"I'm so sorry Bee, I wish I could do anything to make things better…"

Prime sighs, and for Sam that feels weird, being into his chest as he does so. But also he feels safe, being so close to Optimus' spark.

"what we could do?"

Optimus is not sure if Sam is asking that to him or to himself, but he answers anyway: "Ratcher is going through all the psychiatric datapads he can find, and Lennox is organizing for a military consultant to come for Bee… I wish Jazz was here, he was the so good with Bumblebee when he had to deal with the aftermaths of Tyger Pax battle and Cliffhanger death…"

That last part is more for Optimus himself that for Sam, but looks like he hit a chord in the teen. When Sam speaks again, there is a new hope in his voice. "I know what to do… Thank you Optimus"

Sam presses a kiss on Bumblebee forehead, and goes back on Prime's hand and to the ground.

As soon as his feet touch the ground, he starts to run.

When he rush into the medbay, Mikaela, who is waiting for him, rises from the chair she was sitting on. But Sam doesn't acknowledge her, and makes a beeline towards Ratchet. He stop in front of the docbot, hands on his kneels and he tries to stabilize his breath. "Ratchet…uff… I need your help…"

Mikaela is on his side, her hand on his shoulder as to stabilize him. "Sam?"

"I … we, we need the spark extractor. We need it setted to retrieve a spark from the air"

"What for Sam?" Mikaela looks concerne, as she's thinking Sam is having a mental breakdown.

"We can help Bee, Mikaela. We have just to wake 'him' up now!"

"Mikaela, what is Sam talking about?"

Mikaela breath deeply, trying to gain her bearing back, before she turns to the docbot, her mentor.

"Ratch… do you remember the secret project Bee was working on? We are going to bring Jazz back."

* * *

Ratchet had Mikaela and Sam retell him the story three times, and another time after he saw the body.

Mikaela took care of him when Bee and Sam went missing, and the body, now 25 years old, looks all considering in good shape.

Jazz could return.

Jazz could return and Bee made it possible.

_/Please, believe me Ratchet, that will fix everything!/_ that was what Bee told him when the docbot confronts with the youngling about the items disappearing from the medbay.

Oh Bee… That is how those men knew he could use the fast breeding technology by himself….

Ratchet was oh, so proud of their little one. So smart, so resourceful! And still, looks like Primus cannot protect him, or maybe ever hate him, because, doesn't matter what, every time the young scout is involved, things go south and the life takes the hardest path.

But every time Bumblebee fights back, making his own luck. He brings Jazz back. And yes, Sam is right, Jazz will bring Bee back, saves him from his own mind.

With a deep vent he starts to work on the spark extractor. /Please Jazz, be here, your spark has to be here/

* * *

Ratchet should know better that hope for something. But someway he is relief that he is the one trying, and not Bee. Primus knows if the youngling can take another let-down.

Apparently Sam and Mikaela cannot took another failure as well. They insist to keep trying, but after the fifth attempt to relocate Jazz spark, the young humans start to loose their faith. They hugging each other, tears streaming on their cheeks, and they look way younger than what they are.

"Last attempt" Ratchet sighs, and the teenagers are too lost to complain about that.

Ratchet's last attempt his half-hearth at least. He is turning his back to the berth were the body lie, when the body - Jazz- take a deep intake of air, and sit on the berth.

"Sh't, tha' was hard" is the first thing out of his mouth

"Welcome back old friend!" Ratchet smile to the human-cybertronian as he start to check his vital signs.

"Glad to be back, care to update me? what happen? where are the others? how long I was out of it?

and, WHY I'M IN A HUMAN BODY?"


	15. Chapter 15

If you ask Jazz, he will tell you that he is not disregards Ratchet orders.

Ratchet made him promise that he will 'rest', he never specified in which berth. And, after they told him what happened to his little brother, the only way he can rest is lying with said little brother, after he will check on him.

From the quick glimpse to the maps, and from Sam's information, Jazz is standing now in front of Optimus Prime room. Lil Bee should be inside. Optimus should be there as well, and Jazz prays that Ratchet didn't tell to Prime that Jazz is suppose to be in the medbay. He also hope the docbot gave a call to the bossbot, and that Prime will recognize him. I mean, Prime don't kill humans, usually, but if he feels like Jazz is a threat to his son, he will vaporize Jazz, and he's just back from the Well, thank you very much.

He vents (or breaths, or whatever this body required), and cracks the door open and slides inside as silent as he can.

That means with no sound, thank you, he is a spy, you know?

And after he is just speechless.

The scene in front of him is not what he was expecting.

Well, ok he was expecting the light to be on, for any emergency, and that is ok.

He was expecting the room to be tidy and free of everything could be dangerous for a little broken Bee, and the bossbot didn't disappoint him.

And he was expecting Optimus to be in recharge, and he can confirm that that is how Prime is.

What he wasn't expecting is the young boy, pale and sad and tired, sitting by Optimus' head, caressing his faceplate, humming an old cybertronian lullaby.

"Bee?"

"Shh, he wasn't able to sleep for long time, and he cannot keep working with humans and fight against Decepticons if he's so tired. He should take more care of himself, and not stay awake worrying for me"

Bee looks away for his father face, and tiredly smile to Jazz."Jazz, I know what you said there, but I failed, again…"

"Come here, little brother, let's talk in the other room, so that we will not wake Prime, ok?" Jazz's almost disturbed by the attitude of his little brother. Bee looks like he's in trance, barely there. He doesn't seem surprised or relieved that Jazz is awake, and that rings alarm bells in all his processor (oh, well, brain, whatever).

The berth where Prime is lying is quite high for a human, but is connected to the ground by stairs. Jazz helps Bee on the last steps, and holds his hand as they go out of the room.

Bee lead him in the cafeteria, and he sits on ground, in a spot Jazz recognize as the one with the best visual of all the room.

"I'm glad you are back, when I didn't see you after they'd freed us I assumed you were not going to come back. And then I realized I haven't thanked you back in the lab, when you help me, and…"

Bee's cheek are strained by tears by now, and Jazz is not sure how to help, or even if he can help.

Before he can do anything, Bee restart to talk "… probably I didn't go completely nut because you were there, and that is ridiculous because I know the truth…" "..the truth?" "that you are only in my mind… sigh… I'm here speaking with you as you are here, but I know that you are just an hallucination, because…because I lost it, didn't I?"

"Oh, Bee, no…" He tries to say, but Bumblebee sinks in his chest, holding his hoodie as a lifeline, and starts to sob and cry. "I'm sorry Jazz, I'm so, so sorry…. I failed to save you, and those student…And Cliffhanger, and all my team in Tyger Pax, I failed everyone and I should be dead, I should die, but I failed to kill myself as well…"

"Bee, hey Bee, look at me, no no look at me little brother" Jazz place his hands on the little boy's cheeks, lifting his face and forcing Bee to establish eyes contact.

"Bee, you don't fail me, I'm real, you brought me back…"

All the other things Jazz want to say, they all get lost in the sound of the alarm that pierces the quiet.


	16. Chapter 16

Ironhide is not amused. To be fair, is as far from 'amused' as one could be. Or even further.

Those lowlifes, those bastards, they entered in NEST HQ, they invaded his house ten days ago. And, as he and his squad, human and cybertronian together, fought against them, those scums kidnaped his precious boy, his little Bumblebee, and for the second time! and this time under his nose!

And Optimus! He is his Prime, and he should follow him, but now the blue and red mech looks like he lost all the hope, and like his is not going to do anything. Almost two weeks, and he didn't do anything!

Will, on the other hand, looks frenetic and all his squad is working on tracking down those wretched.

All the men look worn out, but Hide can recognize between them those whom trained and sparred with Bee, and whom went to rescue him the other time. So, they are looking for a friend, for a brother in arms. No one will stop them.

Ratchet said that Jazz could be with Bee, since he disappeared the same night. Hide is not sure how he feels about that, about Jazz being alive again, but still lost to them. His only hope is that Jazz could help Bee.

And then, suddenly, as evoked from his own thoughts, Bee stumble in the room holding the arm of a black guy over his shoulder, helping said guy to walk, or better, limp… they are both covered in dust and in what looks like caked blood.

"Ratchet, we need help here…" Hide says pointlessly, as the human doctor in Will's team is already moving toward the couple.

As said doctor takes care of the man that Hide is assuming being Jazz, Bee all but crumble in exhaustion in Will embrace.

Ratchet picks Bee and Will together in one hand, and Jazz and the other doctor in the other, and marchs toward the medbay as fast as he dares with so many fragile charges in his hands.

When Ratchet starts to scan Bee, the little one lift his head from Will shoulder where it was lying, and with a tired smile he says: "I'm fine Ratchet, but they shot Jazz in his leg… could you check on him first?"

"Hush young one, let me doing my job, would you?"

"Bee" Will step in softly "what happened?"

At that the boy hides his face against the Captain's collarbone. "I'm sorry, it was my fault… it was all my fault, but I had to free him before them hurt him! I'm so so sorry"

Will's arms tight around the crying boy' shoulders, and his heart sinks: the boy looked as the old himself for a while, but now they are back to the self-accusing and crying.

Helps arrived from the next berth. "Hey, little brother, it's fine, I'm fine… Bee, please look at me, I'm fine and you're fine and you saved us both, and … and I'm so proud of you little brother, it's not your fault you were very brave, and you managed the situation in the best way possible, I swear!"

"Bee?" Will asks, inclining his head and trying to force the blond to look at him.

"Jazz, what happened?" Ratchet asks as he wraps Bee (and Will per extension) in a blanket, and turns to start dealing with Jazz injury.

"those bastards, they were looking for Bee, for him to finish that project…

they took us in this underground facility where they.."

"torture you" Bee step in with a small, painful tone that hurt Jazz more than his own wounds.

"..they force Bee to work on this canned soldiers"

"you was a 'canned soldier' not too long ago" Bee snorts, but the phrasing amused him, if the smirk is any clue, and Jazz almost feels like thing could be fine again.

"Are you going to interrupt him every three word, you brat?" Will asks playfully, and accompanies it with a nuggie. A giggle and a tongue sticking out are the answers that he get for it. But Jazz can see as Bee's eyes are still scared and unsure. Will seems notice it as well, and his arms go back around Bee shoulder and waist, to keep him close.

"I killed their boss, the guy that kidnaped Sam and me, and who killed all that student… It was my fault, but he pulled the trigger… And now he is dead, and Optimus will hate me, we're not suppose to kills humans!" the blond is crying again, and he's hiding his face in his hands.

"Bee, it's ok, you were doing your best to protect me, and before that to protect Sam, that is your charge…" As Jazz keeps talking, Ratchet simply jabs Bee with a needle, and the boy gets only a second to realize what just happened before surrenders, thankfully, to the sedative.

* * *

"Apart for the emotional swings, he's looking better now that in the last weeks, since the first encounter with those paramilitary organization. Even the wounds from his … termination.. attempt…even those are healing well. Couple of days of rest should be enough for the general exhaustion."

"Thank you Ratchet, I will stay with him, you can go and have some rest" Optimus optics are still focused on the medbay door, and he start to walk through it as soon as he finish to spoke with Ratchet.

"You will have to queue!" He hears the docbot retort, but it make sense only when he steps into the medbay.

Apparently everyone want to check on Bee for the night, so Ironhide is sitting on the berth with Bee, Jazz and Sam on his chest plate, with Bee sandwiched between the other two as they sleep. Lennox and Epps are on the weapon specialist' shoulder, and the three of them are speaking softly each other, but they all stare at the blonde.

Optimus sits on the berth, close to Hide's pedes. He stare at his son, and envy Jazz that can hug him.

Tomorrow, Optimus will ask Ratchet to create a human body for himself. In two months, all the remaining cybertronian will have a human body, and in three they will manage to move their sparks and their consciences from the original body to the human one and vice versa, without the aid of the 'spark-relocator'. They will be a family again, and Bee… he will deal with his past every day a little bit better. He will deal with it, as he did with Tyger-Pax, or with the Young's Sector bombardment. He will still having nightmare, but his family is going to be with him, and they will make everything better.

For the moment, they just watch their little Bee.

* * *

_thank you folks for reading this. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it._  
_I would love to read your opinion o this matter!_


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